Suture and needle holder

ABSTRACT

A holder for retaining sutures, needles and other surgical products used during surgical operations, with one form of the holder being made from sheet material and having intermediate portions folded over adjacent intermediate portions thereof to form a plurality of pockets which are adapted to receive and retain the sutures and needles. Such holder is provided with one or more detachable blocks of resilient material having indicia thereon for assisting in counting the needles carried by the blocks. The holder may be provided with a foldable easel stand. Another embodiment consists of a block of polyfoam material divided into first and second sections, with the first section having on the top wall thereof a decal with indicia thereon and with the second section having in the top wall thereof parallel slots for receiving surgical sutures, needles, etc. to hold them securely and conveniently in place. After the sutures and needles have been accounted for by indicating same on the decal, the first and second sections of the block are severed, with the second section containing the used sutures and needles being disposed of and with the first section being retained.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 715,726, filed Aug. 19, 1976,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,115 issued Aug. 8, 1978.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The surgical holder or holder and counter is used by doctors and nursesin operating rooms and hospitals when it is required to account forsutures, needles and other surgical products and items used duringoperations.

This invention relates to surgical accessories and more specifically toa holder for retaining sutures, needles and other surgical products.

2. Description of the Prior Art

During surgical operations, a scrub technician or operating roomassistant is required to supply the surgeon with sutures as the occasionarises. The common procedure of holding sutures in place is to arrangebundles of sutures within the folds or pleats of ordinary towels. Anaverage size towel has a limited capacity for holding the sutures. Asthe bundles become larger, they become correspondingly unmanageable andindividual sutures become entangled and stuck together. Also, theindividual sutures are not held stably within the folds so when thescrub technician attempts to remove one suture from a bundle it is notuncommon for two or more sutures to become released which slows down theprocedure.

In order to keep the towel stationary as it holds the sutures, medicalinstruments are used to weigh it down. If the table upon which the towelrests is jolted then the folds may become opened and the suturespermitted to fall onto the floor. The cumbersome and annoying drawbacksof these foregoing conventional procedures have resulted in certaininventions which have attempted to improve on the present practices butsuch inventions have not been successfully commercialized.

It is also the standard practice in an operating room for theresponsible nurse or person to actually count all sponges, needles andother surgical products used during or made available for the oprationto insure that such products have not been left within the interior or acavity of the patient's body upon completion of the operation. Since thenurse has many other duties in the operating room, it is difficult forthe nurse to remember the exact count and to physically keep track ofthe surgical products utilized.

A search located the following patents which attempt to solve certain ofthe foregoing problems including the prior patents to Chapel, U.S. Pat.No. 3,481,462 of Dec. 2, 1969 and the patents cited therein; Erickson,U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,039 of June 25, 1974; Slomczewski, U.S. Pat. No.3,388,790 of June 18, 1968; Grover, U.S. Pat. No. 2,692,676 of Oct. 26,1954; Tauber U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,589 of Mar. 11, 1952; Dean, U.S. Pat.No. 2,583,043 of Jan. 22, 1952; and Choffel, U.S. Pat. No. 2,176,452 ofOct. 17, 1939.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide a holderfor sutures, needles and other surgical components or a holder andcounter which is constructed and arranged to hold or support a pluralityof sutures and associated needles in such a manner that a suture orsutures are readily available to the surgeon when operating.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide a suture-needlerack or holder which is constructed and arranged so that a plurality ofsutures are held in distended separated relation with the needlesassociated therewith held in separated relation whereby a needle andsuture may be easily and readily engaged by the surgeon when necessary.

It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a holder andcounter that is simple in construction, economical to manufacture,convenient to use and efficient to operate, and able to meet operatingroom sterility requirements.

It is a still further feature of the present invention to provide asuture-needle holder and counter that is easy to load and set up for useand from which sutures and needles can be identified and removed singlyor in groups without mishaps in an operating room.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a light-weight,inexpensive, relatively handy suture-needle rack or holder forconveniently and positively holding numerous individual surgical suturesand needles so that a selected suture or suture and needle may berapidly withdrawn from the holder without disturbing or otherwiseadversely affecting the other surgical products.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide asuture-needle rack or holder of the aforementioned type whereinremovable blocks with indicia are secure to an area of the holder topermit the nurse to insert and count the needles before, during andafter use and conveniently remove the same from the sterile operatingarea.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a holder ofthe aforementioned type wherein a foldable easel or stand is providedfor mounting the holder on a support. With such a construction, thestand also provides a pocket or opening into which the contaminatedneedles may be safely placed. Thereafter, the ends of the stand orholder are folded over and the entire pocket is discarded with noensuing danger to janitorial personnel.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide a holder forsurgical products having portions thereof folded over adjacent portionsthereof to form a plurality of pockets adapted to receive surgicalproducts.

A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a holderfor surgical products comprising an elongated base member, an elongatedfacing member secured to one side of the base member, with the facingmember having a pair of longitudinal edge portions and a plurality oflongitudinal intermediate portions between the edge portions, and withthe intermediate portions being folded over adjacent portions thereof todefine a plurality of longitudinally extending pockets adapted toreceive surgical products.

Another feature is to provide a holder of the aforementioned typewherein the base member and the facing member are made from relativelythin poster board, with the facing member having the longitudinal edgeportions thereof secured to the base member.

Still another feature is to provide a holder of the aforementioned typewherein a pressure-sensitive adhesive strip is secured to the other sideof the base member for attaching the holder to a support.

A further feature is to provide a holder of the aforementioned typewherein a decal with indicia is secured to the facing member to permit aperson to account thereon for the surgical products utilized.

A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a holderof the aforementioned type wherein the holder, after being sterilized isprovided with an outer envelope which is sealed to maintain the holderin a sterilized condition.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a holder andcounter for surgical products comprising a generally rectangularelongated block having a flat top wall and a flat bottom wall, a grooveextending through the top wall and terminating short of the bottom walland dividing the block into two sections, a decal with indicia thereonsecured to the top wall of one of the sections, the other section havinga plurality of parallel and lengthwise extending slots passing entirelythrough the top wall and extending towards the bottom wall and which areadapted to receive surgical products, the first and second sectionsbeing severable after the products have been used by applying a force tothe bottom wall adjacent the groove to separate the sections of theblock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the holder and countersealed in a transparent envelope;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the holder and counter shown shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the holder and counter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the holder andcounter;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the holder and counter shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the holder and counter of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the holder and counter shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a side view of one section of the holder and counter of FIG.5, after the other section of the device has been severed therefrom;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the presentinvention sealed in a transparent envelope;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the holder and counter of FIG. 9removed from the package, and with the foldable easel stand opened andready to be mounted or placed on a support;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the holder and counter shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the holder and counter shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a back view of the holder and counter shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the holder and counter taken on the line14--14 of FIG. 9, with the package removed;

FIG. 15 is a front view of the needle block; and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the needle block provided with twopressure-sensitive adhesive strips.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the holder and counter, with thepackage removed.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 inclusive, the holder and counter isdesignated by the numeral 10. It consists of a backing member 12 and afacing member 14, each made from a sheet of relatively thin yieldable orpliable material such as poster board, plastic or other sheet materials.The backing member 12 is elongated and is of rectangular cross sectionthroughout its longitudinal extent as illustrated in FIG. 2 and also intransverse cross section as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The facing member 14 has upper and lower edge portions 16 and 18 whichare adhesively secured to the opposing surface of the backing member 12throughout their longitudinal extent. The facing member 14 prior toformation is of rectangular configuration, has a length equal to thelength of the backing member 12 and has a width substantially greaterthan the width of the backing member 12 so that intermediate portionsthereof may be bent and folded over other adjacent portions to form aplurality of pockets 20, 22 and 24 of V-shaped configuration as bestillustrated in FIG. 3.

The first pocket 20 is formed by the longitudinal intermediate portion26 which is adhesively secured to the backing sheet 12 throughout thelongitudinal extent thereof and by the longitudinal intermediateportions 28 and 30 which are folded and adhesively secured togetherthroughout the longitudinal extent thereof.

The second pocket 22 is formed by a longitudinal intermediate portion 32which has the lower portion thereof secured to the backing sheet 12 atan area represented by the numeral 34 and by the reversely bentlongitudinal intermediate portions 36, 38 of the facing sheet 14 whichare secured together by a suitable adhesive. Finally, the third pocket24 is formed by the longitudinal intermediate portion 40 having thelower edge thereof secured to the backing sheet 12 at an arearepresented by the numeral 42 and by the reversely bent longitudinalintermediate portions 44 and 46 which are adhesively secured together.Finally, the facing sheet 14 is provided with a longitudinalintermediate portion 48 terminating in the lower edge portion 18 whichis adhesively secured to the facing sheet 12.

The portions 28 and 30, 36 and 38, and 44 and 46 extend upwardly andoutwardly from the backing member 12 and form flexible arms which firmlyhold the surgical packages in the V-shaped pockets.

The back side or surface 50 of the backing sheet 12 is provided with anelongated pressure-sensitive strip 52 which is centrally located thereonand extends substantially the entire length thereof. The front side orsurface of the backing sheet is indicated by 50'. When in use, thebacking strip 52 is removed to leave or to expose a pressure-sensitiveadhesive surface so that the holder 10 can be applied to a support whenin use such as a Mayo stand, back table or the like used in an operatingroom.

It should be appreciated that the backing and facing members 12 and 14may be made from a single sheet of material which is cut, bent, foldedand pleated to form the rack or holder 10. Although poster board ofapproximately 1/32" in thickness is now utilized as the material forholder 10, it should be appreciated that other pliable materials may beused such as cardboard, plastic and the like which are available insheets or rolls.

The V-shaped pockets 20, 22 and 24 of the rack or holder 10 each has auniform depth which is less than the depth of the packages insertedtherein containing the needles and sutures. The pockets are filled orloaded with surgical products such as pre-packed sutured needles, reeledsutures, loose sutures 53 or ties, loose needles, etc. all of which arein a sterilized condition. The packages of sutures, needles, etc. areheld firmly and conveniently in the pockets by the correspondingportions of the facing sheet 14. A surgeon viewing the loaded holder 10can readily see the packages and the indicia thereon which permits readyidentification of the size and type of sutures or suture-needlecombinations. One package P is shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2. Aplurality of packages are contained in each pocket.

The holder 10 is provided with one or more removable rectangular blocks54 made from resilient material such as corrugated cardboard or polyfoammaterial which has on the outer or front surface thereof suitableindicia 56 which is used by the scrub nurse in rapidly counting the usedneedles. The indicia 56 is printed directly on the blocks 54 althoughdecals could be applied to the blocks upon which the indicia is printed.The blocks are adhesively secured to the longitudinal intermediateportions 46 and 48 of facing member 14 midway between the side edgesthereof. The blocks 54 can each be used to hold ten needles, one needlein each box numbered 1 to 10 inclusive.

As shown in FIG. 2, each block 54 has a heading or legend entitled"Needle Counter". Below the "Needle Counter" heading are a pair ofhorizontal rows of consecutive numbers, as an example, from 1 to 10inclusive. Rows of blank boxes may also be provided where loose needlesare to be used, one needle in a box. The blocks 54 are secured to theholder 10, under sterile conditions, and the assembly is inserted in theenvelope 58 having at least one transparent face 60 which permitsviewing of the holder 10 without opening the envelope 58. Afterpackaging has been completed, the sealed envelope 58 including theblocks 54 thereon is then stored ready for use.

When in use, the holder 10 and blocks 54 are removed from the envelope58 and the pockets are filled or loaded with surgical products understerile condition such as pre-packaged sutured needles, reeled sutures,etc. as described previously.

After use, the needles are inserted into the numbered spaces on theblock(s) 54. After each block 54 is filled with used needles, it isremoved from the holder 10, exposing a protected adhesive strip, notshown, attached to the block 54. The backing strip on the adhesive stripis removed and the block 54 with the contaminated used needles isapplied to some handy surface such as a counter top, back table or thelike in the operating room.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-8 inclusive, the suture holder is designated bythe numeral 70 and is fabricated from a generally rectangular shapedelongated block of polyfoam material which is an open cell porouspolyethylene foam. The holder 70 has a top wall 72, bottom wall 74, endwall 76, end wall 78, side wall 80 and side wall 82.

The block is divided into two sections 84 and 86 which are separated bya laterally extending groove 88 which extends from the top wall 72substantially through the block and terminating short of the bottom wall74. It is sufficient to say at this time after the rack-holder 70 hasbeen utilized and the used needles inserted into the holder 10 that aforce may be applied to the bottom wall 74 of the holder 70 adjacent thegroove 88 so as to divide or separate the block into the two sections 84and 86. FIG. 8 shows section 84 after the other section 86 containingthe used needles etc. has been discarded.

The block is provided with a plurality of saw kerfs or slots 90 whichextend through the top wall 72 for a distance of about one inch towardsthe bottom wall 74 and at a 45° angle with respect to the top wall 72.The slots 90 extend longitudinally from end wall 78 to the groove 88although such slots 90 may extend completely across the block from endwall 78 to end wall 76. Each slot 90 has side surfaces 92 and 94 and abottom surface 96. The side surfaces 92 and 94 are uniformly spacedapart, as an example, 1/32". Surgical packages of sutures and needlesare placed in the slots 90 and are held firmly therein. The packagescontact the bottom surface 96 of slots 90 as well as the side surfaces92, 94 and extend outwardly beyond the block's top wall 72 to permit aperson to readily identify the size and type of suture or suture-needlecombinations printed on the packages. Several packages P are shown indotted lines in the slots 90 in FIG. 6. The packages P engage the sideand bottom surfaces of slots 90 and are held firmly in place. The slots90 are constructed to hold pre-packed sutured needles and reeledsutures.

The block is also provided with two additional pairs of saw kerfs orslots 100 arranged on opposite longitudinal sides of the slots 90 andparallel thereto as shown in FIG. 6. The slots 100 are at 45° withrespect to the top wall 72 and extend therefrom a depth of only 1/4".The slots 100 extend longitudinally from end wall 78 to end wall 76. Thebottom surfaces 102 of the slots 100 are provided with knife slits 104which extend a depth of 1/8". The knife slits 104 are for the purpose ofholding loose or free sutures or ties, with the associated slots 100serving as an aid in locating the slits 104.

The holder 70 is also provided with an angled slot 106 in the end wall76 which is adapted to hold the needle holders when the operating roompersonnel are not using them.

The holder 70 is provided with a suitable paper decal 108 which hasindicia thereon which is used by the scrub nurse in rapidly counting theused needles. The decal 108 is adhesively secured to the top wall 72 ofthe section 84 between the slots 100 provided therein. The decal 108 hastwo headings entitled "Needle Counter" and "Free Needles". Under theheading entitled "Needle Counter" there are a plurality of horizontalrows of consecutive numbers, as an example, from 1 to 70. That sectionaids the nurse in her final needle count by grouping the used needlesinto, as an example, groups of ten. Rows of blank boxes are provided forthe "Free Needles" heading where the loose needles are carried or held.

The open cell porous polyethylene foam block or holder 70 may be placedin a sealed package, not shown and pre-sterilzed by gamma radiation orby other sterilizing techniques. The holder is then stored forsubsequent use.

The bottom wall 74 of section 84 is provided with a generallyrectangular pressure-sensitive strip 110. The strip 110 when removedleaves or exposes a pressure-sensitive adhesive surface so that theholder 70 can be applied to a support such as a Mayo stand, back tableor the like used in an operating room.

After use, the used needles are placed in section 86 and all the needleshave been accounted for, the sections are separated by applying a forceto wall 74 at the bottom of groove 88. Prior to separating, the scrubnurse rapidly counts the used needles by simply scanning the indicia.The scrub nurse must account for all the needles provided at thebeginning of he operation. The marked decal section 84 is retained andthe other section 86 provided with the used needles is thrown away.

The racks or holders 10 and 70 are designed to hold pre-threaded,pre-sterilized, pre-wrapped needle-suture combinations, suture reels(sutures wound on thin plastic reels), for ties (sutures intended foruse without needles), and for free needles (unthreaded needles whichwill be threaded from the reels during surgery). In each embodiment, thepockets of holder 10 and the slots 90 of holder 70 hold the wrappedsuture-needles in such a way to permit ready identification of the sizeand type. Such is achieved in holder 70 as a result of the angle (45°)and spacing of the slots 90.

Because of the large variety in types of operations and in techniquesand peculiarities of surgeons, the holders may or may not be pre-loadedwith packages of needles and sutures. Where the holders are notpre-loaded, they would be available in sterilized packages. In such casethe scrub nurse would load the pre-sterilized block with the necessarysterilized sutures and needles immediately prior to surgery.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-15 inclusive, the holder and counter isdesignated by the numeral 120 and constitutes another embodiment of thepresent invention. It is similar to the holder and counter 10 of FIGS.1-3 and in addition includes a foldable stand or easel for mounting theholder and counter 120 and for storing the needle holders as willsubsequently appear.

The holder and counter 120 consists of a foldable or expandable backingmember 122 and a facing member 124, each made from a sheet of relativelythin yieldable or pliable material such as poster board, plastic orother sheet materials.

The backing member 122 is elongated and of tubular construction as shownin FIG. 10 and forms the foldable easel or stand 126. The backing member122 includes a plurality of foldable sections including a generally flatbase section 128, a top section 130 having a fold line 132 and amounting section 134 which is hingedly connected to base section 128 ata fold area or line 136 and to the top section 130 at a fold area orline 138. The top section 130 includes a pair of finger openings 140 toassist in the opening of the easel 126.

The facing member 124 has upper and lower edge portions 142 and 144which are adhesively secured to the opposing surface of the base section128 throughout their longitudinal extent. The facing member 124 prior toformation is of generally rectangular configuration and has a sufficientwidth so that intermediate portions thereof may be bent and folded overother adjacent intermediate portions to form a plurality of pockets 146,148 and 150 of generally V-shaped configuration as best illustrated inFIG. 14.

The first pocket 146 is formed by the longitudinal intermediate portion152 which is adhesively secured to the base section 128 throughout thelongitudinal extent thereof and by the longitudinal intermediateportions 154 and 156 which are folded and adhesively secured togetherthroughout the longitudinal extent thereof.

The second pocket 148 is formed by a longitudinal intermediate portion158 which has the lower portion thereof secured by the base section 128at an area represented by the numeral 160 and by the reversely bentlongitudinal intermediate portions 162, 164 of the facing sheet 124which are secured together by a suitable adhesive. Finally, the thirdpocket 150 is formed by the longitudinal intermediate portion 166 havingthe lower edge thereof secured to the base section 128 at an arearepresented by the numeral 168 and by the reversely bent longitudinalintermediate portions 170 and 172 which are adhesively secured together.Finally, the facing sheet 124 is provided with the longitudinalintermediate portion 174 terminating in the lower edge portion 144 whichis adhesively secured to the facing sheet 124.

The portions 154 and 156, 162 and 164, and 170 and 172 extend upwardlyand outwardly from the base section 128 and form flexible arms whichfirmly hold the surgical packages in the V-shaped pockets aforesaid.

The back side or surface 176 of the mounting section 134 of the backingmember 122 is provided with an elongated pressure-sensitive strip 178which is centrally located thereon and extends substantially the entirelength thereof as shown in FIG. 13. When in use, the backing strip 178is removed to leave or to expose a pressure-sensitive adhesive surfaceso that the holder 120 can be applied to a support when in use such as aMayo stand, back table or the like used in an operating room. The holder120 can be applied to a support at any inclination with the easel orstand 126 folded closed as in FIG. 14 or in an extended position as inFIG. 10.

It should be appreciated that the backing and facing members 122 and 124may each be made from a single sheet of material which is cut, bent,folded and pleated to form the rack or holder 120. Although poster boardof approximately 1/32" in thickness is now utilized as the material forholder 120, it should be appreciated that other pliable materials may beused such as cardboard, plastic and the like which are available insheets or rolls.

The V-shaped pockets 146, 148 and 150 of the rack or holder 120 each hasa uniform depth which is less than the depth of the packages insertedtherein containing the needles and sutures. The pockets are filled orloaded with surgical products such as pre-packed sutured needles, reeledsutures, loose sutures 53 or ties, loose needles, etc. all of which arein a sterilized condition. The packages of sutures, needles, etc. areheld firmly and conveniently in the pockets by the correspondingportions of the facing sheet 124. A surgeon viewing the loaded holder120 can readily see the packages and the indicia thereon which permitsready identification of the size and type of sutures or suture-needlecombinations as explained previously in connection with FIGS. 1-3. Aplurality of packages are contained in each pocket as shown in theembodiment of FIG. 3.

The holder 120 is provided with one or more removable rectangular blocks180 made from resilient material such as polyfoam material which has onthe outer surface thereof suitable indicia 182 which is used by thescrub nurse in rapidly counting the used needles. The indicia 182 isprinted directly on the blocks 54 although decals could be applied tothe blocks 180 upon which the indicia is printed. Each block 180 isadhesively and removably secured to the longitudinal intermediateportions 172 and 174 of facing member 124 between the side edgesthereof. The blocks 180 can each be used to hold ten needles, one needlein each box numbered, as an example, 1 to 10 inclusive under the heading"Needle Counter" as shown in FIG. 15. Rows of blank boxes may also beprovided where loose needles are to be used, one needle in a numberedbox.

Each block 180 is provided on the back side thereof opposite the indicia182 with a pair of pressure-sensitive adhesive layers or strips 184 and186. The first or outer adhesive strip 184, which may cover and protectthe entire second strip 186 or a part thereof, is removed to expose anadhesive surface which is used to secure the block 180 to the facingmember 124 of holder 120 as shown in FIG. 9. The blocks 180 are securedto holder 120 under sterile conditions and the assembly is inserted inan envelope 188 having at least one transparent face 190. Afterpackaging has been completed, the sealed envelope 188 including thecontents therein is then stored ready for use.

When in use, the holder 120 and blocks 180 are removed from the envelope188 and the pockets are filled or loaded with surgical products understerile conditions as described in connection with the otherembodiments.

After use, the needles are inserted in the numbered spaces on the blocks180. After each block 180 is filled with used needles, it is removedfrom the holder 120 and the strip 186 is removed exposing anotheradhesive surface on the block 180. The filled block 180 is then appliedto some handy surface or location during the remaining surgery.

Once the blocks 180 have been filled with the used needles and thesurgery completed, the filled blocks 180 are inserted in the interior oropening of the foldable easel or stand 126 and thereafter the end tabs194 (FIG. 12) provided on the top section 130 are folded down andsuitable end flaps 196 provided on the base section 128 are folded overthe ends of the opening and cooperate with the end tabs 194 to close theinterior of the easel 126. The holder 120 containing the used needleblocks 180 forms a protective pouch which may be discarded. The holder120 thus protects a person from injury should the person handle theholder 120 when in a trash can.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the holder and counter 120 with theenvelope 188 removed. As clearly shown by FIG. 17, top section 130 hasan end tab 194 on each end thereof. End flaps 196, attached to eitherbase section 128 or mounting section 134, are folded over the ends ofthe opening formed when the holder 120 is expanded and after the endtabs 194 have been folded down. The fold line 221 for the end flaps 196is shown in FIGS. 13 and 17.

With the present invention, the needle blocks are removable individuallyfrom the holder. Such blocks are also available in sealed sterilepackages, with two or three blocks to a package. The individual blocksmay be utilized for certain operations where more than thirty needlesare required and thus will be available to supplement a holder havingthree needle blocks and a capacity of thirty needles.

The stand or easel 126 has several important functions including itprovides support for the holder; makes it easier to view the contents ofthe holder; provides a place to store the needle holders during surgerywithin the interior of the stand; and provides a protected pouch intowhich the blocks containing the used needles may be dropped or placedfor final disposal of contaminated material so as to minimize danger tojanitorial personnel.

It should be appreciated that an actual numerical count of the needlesis always necessary or required before surgery or that at leastprecautions be taken to retain the package labels which indicate thenumber of needles brought into the surgical room or field. The numberson the block or blocks make it possible to obtain rapid accurate countsduring and after surgery. The used needles are often counted severaltimes during the surgery. The nurse need only scan the indicia which arestabbed by and retain the used needles and can quickly see where theneedles are. The scanning permits the nurse to count the used needles ingroups of ten, to glance at the last number containing a needle on thefinal or last block and the count is made. The prior art techniquerequires the nurse to lay the needles out one at a time and count them.

We claim:
 1. A holder and counter for surgical products comprising agenerally rectangular elongated block having a flat top wall, a flatbottom wall, opposing side walls and opposing end walls, a grooveextending through the top wall and terminating short of the bottom walland dividing said block into two sections, a decal with indicia thereonsecured to said top wall of one of said sections, said other sectionhaving a plurality of parallel and lengthwise extending slots passingentirely through said top wall and extending towards said bottom wall,each slot having a pair of side surfaces which are spaced apart and abottom surface, with each slot adapted to receive a surgical product,said first and second sections being severable by applying a force tothe bottom wall adjacent said groove to separate said sections of theblock.
 2. The holder and counter defined in claim 1 wherein the surfacesof said slots are at a 45° angle with respect to said top wall.
 3. Theholder and counter defined in claim 1 wherein said block is made frompolyfoam material.
 4. The holder and counter defined in claim 1 whereina pressure-sensitive adhesive strip is secured to said bottom wall forattaching the holder to a support.